Wednesday, March 03, 2010

"King Rudy" Acosta and 2nd Amendment Rights in Chicago

In its wisdom, the U.S. Supreme Court finally took up Chicago's ridiculous 27-year-old handgun ban on Tuesday.

Why is it ridiculous? Because only three classes of people are comfortable with handguns in the anti-handgun city: Cops, criminals and the politically connected.

Mayor Richard Daley sure is upset that the ban might be overturned. But he probably has more armed guards protecting him than the president of Venezuela.

Chicago aldermen are allowed to carry handguns. I wanted to ask the chairman of the City Council's police committee about those gun-toting aldermen. But there was no chairman. The last one just resigned after pleading guilty to federal bribery charges, so he wasn't around.

If the Supreme Court really wanted to know why some folks in Chicago have guns and others don't, they should have called an expert witness:

Rudy Acosta, the former "gangsta" rap impresario, or King Rudy, as he likes to be known.

King Rudy has been arrested at least twice with guns. But he's never been convicted of a felony.

He once told police he's a former member of the Satan Disciples street gang. He now has a video portraying him as a kingpin, a "man of respect," with fine cigars, sweet rides and power.

"That's a video from a long time ago [2008]," Lopez said. "He's a self-promoter. It's the American way."

Back then, I wrote a few columns about Acosta and his monstrous castle on the Northwest Side overlooking the Kennedy Expressway.

Although the neighbors objected to the construction, King Rudy understands the Chicago Way. His father was a Democratic machine precinct captain. Rudy hired a member of the political Banks family — the first family of zoning — to win castle approval from City Hall.

Back then, I wrote he'd been arrested by Chicago police, who said they found four illegal handguns and $112,000 in cash in a wall safe. But all charges were dropped because the elite politically connected unit that arrested King Rudy was itself the target of a federal corruption probe. Is that Chicago or what?

In a recent development, Rudy's guns got him in trouble again. On Oct. 11, 2009, he was arrested at his River North condo. Officers arrived in the lobby just before 6 a.m. to find building security guards cowering "behind a concrete wall."

According to police reports, Rudy was waving a loaded 12-gauge shotgun and screaming that there were robbers in his condo.

Rudy was pointing at security monitors, saying, "They're coming from the side! They're coming after me!"

"Rudy, put the gun away, it's a shadow," a security guard told Rudy.

The report also noted that Rudy relinquished the shotgun before accompanying police up to his condo, scene of the alleged robbery. Police found two men inside, who said they were much too relaxed for such hijinks.

They were Rudy's guests, and had been "drinking and doing lines of coke," the report said.

"Further observation of the offender's apartment revealed an open wall cabinet containing eight handguns and several boxes of ammunition," the report said. And where was the robber? Acosta explained, "There was a guy who climbed off my balcony using a rope." Employing the famous dry sarcasm of Chicago cops, officers noted in the report that Acosta's condo was 46 stories above the ground.

So Acosta was charged with breaking the city's handgun law and reckless conduct — both misdemeanors. But those charges were also dropped, when police failed to appear in court.

Lopez told me his client didn't plan on recovering his guns, but that he "has every right to have guns" in Chicago.

Pardon me?

"The police got their facts wrong," Lopez said. "He was in fear of his safety. And has a PERC card, he's fully licensed. He's not a convicted felon."

PERC stands for Permanent Employee Registration Card. The state government gives these out to private investigators so they can carry guns in the anti-handgun city.

We checked state records. Before the second arrest, Acosta became fully licensed to carry through May, 2012.

Lopez said Acosta has left the gangsta rap business and is now in the private security business and dabbles in real estate.

Whew. That will make the new neighbors feel safe. With Rudy packing all that heat, what criminal would be foolish enough to rob him and try to escape on a rope down the castle walls?

Sadly, Lopez said his client isn't going to move into the castle.

"He's putting it up for sale," Lopez said. "You forced him to sell his house with what you wrote about him. It's too hot now. He can't move in. The neighbors don't want him. He's just a hard-working guy."

The Chicago residents who appealed to the Supreme Court on Tuesday are hard-working, too. But they don't make videos portraying themselves as "gangstas."

All they want is to be able to protect themselves like the boss of Chicago and the politically connected, which is their constitutional right.

And Rudy?

He's just a hard-working guy with the right to bear arms, in the anti-handgun city that works.

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